Walton's slam big hit in Cougars' home opener

Kent Walton could not have scripted a better home opener for the Kane County Cougars on Sunday afternoon in Geneva.

The Southern California native capped a 6-run, seventh-inning outburst with a grand slam as the Cougars cruised to a 9-1 victory over the Burlington Bees at Elfstrom Stadium.

"That's my first grand slam since Little League," Walton said of his blast over the left-field fence into the teeth of a 15 mph wind. "I didn't actually realize it until I saw the other three guys at home plate. I was looking for something up in the zone to drive into the outfield."

Chris Mederos had an equally memorable day on the mound for the Cougars.

In making his first start of the season, Mederos scattered 4 hits over 6 innings, inducing two-thirds of his outs via groundballs and allowing no earned runs in earning the victory.

"My stuff was pretty good," Mederos said after the Cougars drew even at 2-2 on the young season. "I was having a little bit of trouble with my cutter and curveball. Runs on the board always help, especially in the first inning."

Medoros retired the Bees (1-3) in order in the first, and the Cougars wasted little time in drawing first blood.

Conner Crumbliss and Richard Myrio had consecutive singles to start the game, and Walton drove home the former with his first extra-base hit of the game, a double to the left-field wall.

Designated hitter Chris Affinito doubled the lead to 2-0 with an infield grounder, and Mederos' changing speeds baffled the Bees' hitters.

Burlington closed to within 2-1 with a run in the sixth, but Kane County solved local product Scott Kelley in its half to blow the game open.

Kelley, an Arlington Heights resident who prepped at Hersey and played four years at Penn State before being drafted in the later rounds last spring, had retired the first four batters he faced.

Anthony Aliotti singled to open the Cougars' sixth, and back-to-back walks to Rashun Dixon and Mike Gilmartin put Kelley behind the eight ball.

"Switching to the stretch, my body was out of sync," Kelley said.

Leonardo Gil touched Kelley for a sacrifice fly to extend the Cougars' lead to 3-1, and Myrio Richard's bases-loaded walk enabled Walton to have an early-career game one batter after Kelley departed.

"It's been a lot of fun," Kelley said. "It's good to be back in the Midwest League."